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DON

 - 11 dictionary results

don

1  [don; Sp., It. dawn]
Use DON in a Sentence
–noun
1. (initial capital letter) Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lord or gentleman.
3. (initial capital letter) an Italian title of address, esp. for a priest.
4. a person of great importance.
5. (in the English universities) a head, fellow, or tutor of a college.
6. (in the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.
Origin:
1515–25; < Sp, It < L dominus

don

2  [don]
–verb (used with object), donned, don⋅ning.
to put on or dress in: to don one's clothes.
Origin:
1560–70; contr. of do 1 + on; cf. doff

don

3  [dohn]
–conjunction
(in prescriptions) donec.
Origin:
by shortening

Don

  [don; for 1 also Russ. dawn]
–noun
1. a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. ab. 1200 mi. (1930 km) long.
2. a river in NE Scotland, flowing E from Aberdeen county to the North Sea. 62 mi. (100 km) long.
3. a river in central England, flowing NE from S Yorkshire to the Humber estuary. 60 mi. (97 km) long.
4. a male given name, form of Donald.

Don

  [dawn]
–noun Welsh Mythology.
a goddess, the mother of Gwydion and Arianrod: corresponds to the Irish Danu.

do⋅nec

  [doh-nek]
–conjunction
(in prescriptions) until.
Also, don.

Origin:
< L
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To DON
don 1   (dŏn)   
n.  

  1. Don also (dōn) Abbr. D. Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area.

  2. Chiefly British

    1. A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge.

    2. A college or university professor.

  3. The leader of an organized-crime family.

  4. Archaic An important personage.


[Spanish dialectal and Italian, both from Latin dominus, lord; see dem- in Indo-European roots.]
don 2   (dŏn)   
tr.v.   donned, don·ning, dons

  1. To put on (clothing).

  2. To assume or take on: donned the air of the injured party.


[Middle English, contraction of do on, to put on; see do1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

don  (n.)
1523, from Sp. or Port. don, title of respect, from L. dominus "lord, master." The university sense is c.1660, originally student slang; underworld sense is 1952, from It. don, from L.L. domnus, from L. dominus (see domain). Don Juan "philanderer" is from the legendary dissolute Sp. nobleman dramatized by Gabriel Tellez in "Convivado de Piedra" and popularized in Eng. by Lord Byron. The fem. form is Dona (Sp./Port.), Donna (It.).

don  (v.)
early 14c. contraction of do on (see doff). "After 1650 retained in popular use only in north. dialect; as a literary archaism it has become very frequent in 19th c." [OED].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
DON
dissolved organic nitrogen
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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